


You wrap me in humanity

by plikki



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Identity Reveal, Post-Hawk Moth Defeat, but still not too bad, more angsty than expected
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:55:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23667976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plikki/pseuds/plikki
Summary: Adrien thought he'd lost it all. But it turned out he now had what he'd wanted the most.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 17
Kudos: 210





	You wrap me in humanity

**Author's Note:**

> When I listened to this song (ATB ft. Tiff Lacey - Humanity), about a week ago and had this light-bulb moment of "It's perfect for them!", I had no idea what I was going to write. Today I got this idea. And I think it relates to the song in a very good way. It's sadder than what I first envisioned, but well.. it happens. I hope you like it.

_I've been swallowed by your kindness_

_Every part of me is breaking down_

_You have let me feel so helpless_

_As if I couldn't drown_

_It was all in love_

_You understood the need in me_

_So much tenderness_

_You wrapped me in humanity_

_You touched my soul_

_My very being_

_You made me whole_

_Now life has new meaning_

_Got a second chance_

_You can see the change in me_

_And as we dance_

_You wrap me in humanity_

_Others walked on by in blindness_

_But you refused to let me be_

_My disguise you saw behind this_

_You pushed on and set me free_

_And it was in protection_

_You held on with such certainty_

_Embraced by your affection_

_As you wrapped me in humanity_

Adrien didn’t know how long he sat there, staring into nothing, mind wandering. Plagg had been untypically quiet and subdued. Which probably meant what he feared - that they’d soon be separated. He didn’t know how that would happen, how Ladybug would take his Miraculous. But one way or another, it would be a fact very soon. 

His thoughts were a jumbled mess. One second it was Plagg he was worrying about, what it would mean for him to part with his kwami, to say goodbye to being Chat Noir forever. The next, it was his lady that was on his mind. He was going to tell her goodbye too. He had no way of knowing if she’d reveal her identity to him. She was the guardian, she may decide it was a risk and leave without a trace. His heart ached for her too. 

But of course the thing he didn’t want to think about but still didn’t leave him alone was his father. Hawk Moth. It was the biggest blow, something he wasn’t sure he’d ever recover from. And if having his only living parent turning out to be his mortal enemy wasn’t enough, there was the matter with Nathalie on top of that. Her betrayal hurt him too. She’d sided with the enemy, without knowing it was Adrien she was going up against. But still, he felt betrayed. Not by one, but by two of the people closest to him. He didn’t want to think about that final battle, the big showdown that had ended it all. He didn’t want to relive that horror. It was all in the past now anyway.

And where did that leave him? All alone, with only his bodyguard until his aunt could come to France. Alone with his thoughts and fears and self-pity. It was already late, but he didn’t think he’d be able to sleep that night. His mind was too busy and his heart too heavy for that. 

Just when it all felt too much, there was a sudden knock on his door. 

“Come in,” he said without enthusiasm. 

When he saw not only his bodyguard but also Marinette there, he stood up surprised. He was happy to see her, but he didn’t really have it in him to listen to her say how sorry she was. He’d gone through that with his other friends earlier. Just like them, she knew only half of it. He didn’t have to pretend it was a big surprise that his father was a villain, but he still had to hide that he was also the man he’d been fighting for so long. 

He nodded at his bodyguard and he left them alone. The moment the door to his room closed, though, he was surprised to find Marinette in his arms.

“Chat, I’m here, I couldn’t leave you alone tonight. I’m sorry I couldn’t come earlier. It was just crazy and I had to make sure you’d be alone. And I didn’t want to come as Ladybug and…”

She was rambling on, but he was no longer listening. He just looked at her. Really looked at her. She was not acting in the usual way, for sure. They’d become close friends over the years but she’d still held onto this ridiculous shyness when she was around him. It was something he couldn’t explain, but it was gone now. She looked worried and was talking a mile a minute, this was true, but she still looked surprisingly confident. If what she’d said was true, this was because she was also Ladybug. This truth, unlike the others he’d had to accept that day, didn’t hurt. It was a welcome distraction, it was wonderful. 

“You? You’re Ladybug?” He asked, just to be sure he hadn’t imagined it. 

“Of course, kitty, who else?” She said with a soft smile. He crushed her in a bear hug. He’d been so afraid he’d lose her too and yet, here she was. He held her for a while and she didn’t seem to mind, making no move to disengage from him. He realised that she must have heard him. When he’d first seen Hawk Moth without the mask, he hadn’t been able to stop himself from saying “father”. It had been nothing more than a quiet word, spoken in the chaos. He’d been certain no one had heard him, but she’d been close. And she’d put a comforting hand on his arm, but he’d been too lost in his thoughts to really notice it. Now he knew better.

“You’re not disappointed? That it’s me.” He mumbled into her hair. “Or angry? That it was my father who… “

“No,” she said sternly, pulling back to look at him. “It’s not your fault. Your father’s mistakes are his own. You’ve always done the right thing and you have nothing to do with his devious plan.”

“How can you be so sure about that?”

“I know you, kitty. You’re the most righteous person I know. You’d never do anything that would hurt someone else. Or anything behind my back,” she said. And the surprising thing was he felt it. Her trust in him, her confidence that he was loyal to her. He’d never given her a reason to doubt him but it was still nice to know that she believed in him like that.

“Thank you for coming here. I felt so… “ He paused, because he didn’t want to sound so miserable. But then she looked around. And she probably saw what he saw too. A cold room, even colder without her there, in an empty house. 

“Do you want to come home with me tonight?” She asked suddenly. He jumped in surprise. He was touched by her offer but still he hadn’t expected it.

“What about your parents?” It was a reasonable question. How were they going to explain this?

“They know what happened,” she said. Of course they did, everyone knew by now. “They’d have no problem with you being there. They’d be happy you’re not alone.”

He could believe that, her parents were wonderful. 

“And you want me there, with you?” She was there, with him, so it had to mean something. But he still had to ask.

“That’s where you belong,” she said, making it sound so simple.

It was the kindest thing anyone had ever told him. That he belonged there, with her. It didn’t matter in what role she wanted him there. The fact that she did was everything he needed to know for now.

*

Her parents were really concerned but thankfully didn’t question him extensively. They’d offered him warm dinner and their home without hesitation and he’d be forever grateful for that. They’d also held back on questioning him on his relationship with their daughter. Since this was tricky to say the least, he was happy they’d accepted that she was there for him as a friend. If they suspected more, they didn’t let on. Maybe at a more appropriate time, they’d let their curiosity show, but they’d respected his privacy at such a stressful moment for him. It was what any decent person would have done, he guessed, and they were so much more than that, so it was not surprising. 

Of course, there was the issue of their sleeping arrangements for the night. Something that was resolved with much blushing on their part and their insistence that he’d sleep on the chaise lounge, of course. He thought he saw a knowing smile on her mother’s face that suggested she didn’t exactly believe that, but she hadn’t mentioned it out loud. He was grateful about that too, since he himself didn’t know yet where he stood in that regard. And it was up to his lady to make it clear.

However, once they were in her room, out of prying eyes, he was overcome with emotions once again. She was walking in front of him, talking about something, trying to distract him with some easy chit-chat, but he cut her off when he hugged her from behind and held her close. 

“Thank you. For doing this. For being here for me. It means the world to me.” 

“Of course, Adrien. It’s the least I could do. And also, I’m not doing it only for you.” She paused and he felt her hesitate. But only for a second. She turned in his arms and smiled at him.

“I also need this. I need you here. I know now may not be the right time for this but… “

She looked away when she said that. He knew what she meant, but he didn’t agree. He needed to know now, more than ever. He brushed her warm cheek with his fingers.

“It’s actually the best time for this. Tell me what you need to say,” he said, encouraging her.

Her eyes snapped back to his at his words. 

“I can’t even imagine how hard this is for you. And as your partner, it’s my duty to be here for you. As a friend, even more so. But… I also want you to be here because…” She paused, took a deep breath and added, “I love you.”

He was surprised, yes, because it was Ladybug saying this. He’d always known she cared about him very much, she’d said many times that he was her best friend. But this? He hadn’t seen it coming. 

“You love me? How, when?”

“It was always you, Adrien,” She said softly. He could only look at her, speechless. “You were the boy I first loved and then.. At some point in time I also fell in love with Chat. I never told you as Adrien because I was too shy, too insecure, too afraid to ruin our friendship. And then, I couldn’t tell you because it wasn’t fair to be in love with you and someone else at the same time. And you know why I never told you as Ladybug. While Hawk Moth was out there,” she winced, probably because he’d made a face, “we couldn’t know our identities and be together. So, it had to be a secret. I know it may be too late now…

“Too late?” He interrupted her. “I’ve never stopped loving you, m’lady. Even when it hurt the most, even when it meant that I would be lonely and sad. I could never give up on you. I love you,” he whispered. “I can’t believe you too…”

It was her turn to cut him off, her lips on his. It was so long overdue that it didn’t need to be discussed further, he thought. He kissed her desperately as she wrapped around him. He lost his balance but she only had to take a few steps backwards until they reached the wall. If her appearance in his room a few hours earlier had been a ray of light in his darkest day, this was the warm touch that melted his heart, left cold after all the disappointment he’d faced earlier. He kissed her until he ran out of breath and even then it was hard to separate himself from her. 

They just looked at each other as they breathed heavily. As soon as their breathing eased, they were kissing again. Making up for lost time and all that.

*

“I feel so stupid,” he said as they lay in her bed later. “I can’t believe I didn’t know. I have this annoying feeling that I should have known. They were both under my own roof and I never suspected a thing.”

“It’s not your fault, “ she said as her fingers lazily toyed with his hair. “You really had no way of knowing. He fooled us both. And then… You believe the best in people. So it’s no wonder it never really crossed your mind.

It was a small consolation, but it still counted. 

“What’s going to happen now?” she asked after a while, voicing what was on his mind too. 

“My aunt is coming soon, as soon as she can arrange it. But I don’t think it’ll make much of a difference. I’m turning 18 in a few months. And living on my own with my bodyguard wouldn’t be much different than what it was before. I barely saw him even when we lived together.”

“But you’ll still miss him.”

“Miss him? Maybe someday. Right now, I don’t know how I feel. He’s my father, yes, in name. But he hasn’t been one in many other ways for a long time. So while it hurts that he did what he did, making the distance between us even greater, I mainly feel numb.”

“And Nathalie?”

“She did what she could to make my life easier so I’m thankful for that. I can’t believe there was a time when I thought they could actually get together, when I saw her as a potential step-mum. While all this time, they were just partners in crime,” he said, shaking his head sadly.

“Do you think there was more?”

“Knowing my father? Not likely. He was doing all this to bring back his dead wife. In his own perverted way, he was loyal to her. You know what? I don’t really want to talk about them anymore,” he admitted .

“It’s ok. We don’t have to talk about this.”

“What about the kwamis?” They haven’t really talked with them. They probably thought they deserved some time alone and had left them as soon as they arrived at Marinette’s home. 

“You mean what about Plagg, I guess?” He nodded. “I don’t think it would be a problem if you keep him. Yes, we don’t have villains to fight with anymore. But I know how much he means to you. And he loves you too. I think you’ll both feel better together. Also, he and Tikki will finally be able to talk and be together freely, they may also go into the Miracle box whenever they want to. Other than that, nothing much has to change.”

He sighed with relief. He really didn’t want to let Plagg go. And there were some perks of being with the guardian, he thought with a smile. But then he had to fight back a yawn.

“We’ll have enough time to talk about everything. We should sleep now,” she said, looking at him affectionately. 

He was tired, it had been a very long day. But he was not tired enough to feel unaffected by her presence there. And he was sure she felt like that too. 

“Are you sure you’re comfortable with me being here?” They’d ended up in her bed without really discussing it. But it felt right. He remembered her mum’s expression. Maybe it was easier to spot what was going on between them than they thought. 

“Of course. It makes no sense for you to lie on the uncomfortable chaise lounge when you could be here with me. It’s not much better, actually, since there is barely enough room for both of us,” she continued.

“But I prefer it here too,” he said, wrapping an arm around her. Having her there with him would make this night much more bearable. 

“And let’s be honest. We’re not kids anymore. We’ve waited long enough to get together. So I have no problem with something more happening,” she said this surprisingly calmly but he could swear she was blushing in the dimmed light. “Maybe not now… but… “

He kissed her this time. The moment was not right, yes. He didn’t want this to happen in an attempt to escape from the grim reality. They loved each other and deserved better. But he really hoped he’d feel better soon, well enough to focus on nicer things. 

“Soon,” he whispered against her lips. She smiled and kissed him again.

When they were ready to sleep, she rested her head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her again. Lying there in the dark with her, he could believe life could be good again. It might not be easy, but she would be there for him. Together they could deal with anything. 

“I love you, Marinette” he whispered as he kissed the top of her head. 

“I love you too, Adrien” she mumbled sleepily.


End file.
